Anxious Awkward American
by QuirkQuartz
Summary: Pony has had a crush on Kinoko for close to a year now - Though on one specific day, for some reason, it begins to fully cripple her with anxiety, and that just happens to be a day where she winds up on her own with Kinoko, and gets herself into a situation where she can't leave. Trade fic for burningbloodsanji


There were plenty of parts of Japan that Pony simply didn't get.

She'd spent a lot of time researching Japan before she'd ever stepped foot in the country. She'd gone out of her way to research whatever culture she could find about the place she would spend the next three years of her life and had made an effort to learn the language the best she could. Thanks to the internet, there were a lot of things that she had been able to learn before she had even left America.

The subtle intricacies of the Asian land were lost on her though – The more obscure, day-to-day ticks and tocks of Japanese society that weren't referenced anywhere obvious. Like the Aizuchi – The Nodding Response. A way people from Japan would nod their head and say simple words in order to look like they were involved in the conversation. The sheer number of times Pony had stopped whatever she was talking about to ask them to clarify what they meant when they didn't mean anything at all had to be up there in the hundreds.

And that was just one slightly obscure Japanese custom. Things like when it was appropriate to bow, the 'polite' etiquette when it came to eating food, and the slightly over the top obsession with barley tea – It had been one hell of a learning curve for the American.

Going to Yuuei had been a dream of hers for as long as she'd known that she wanted to be a Hero. It was lots of peoples dream – It was one of the most famous Hero schools to exist on the planet, but Pony had felt the drive and the determination to actually make it happen. The amount of work that she had needed to put into making it a reality had been immense, stressful, and far, far more difficult than any idea that she had had of the endeavour.

Anime made everything look a lot easier than it was in real life…

She'd spent a short amount of time in the country before her time at Yuuei had even begun, to adjust to her new home, and to see if she could pick up on any more of the subtle factors of Japanese life. The biggest issue ended up being the language barrier by the time she finally got to Yuuei, and that was something she had had to work hard with. Even with translation technology having improved since Quirks first evolved, it wasn't perfect, and she had to learn it from experience and doing. As time went on though, she got better, and everyone in her class was incredibly nice to her. She couldn't help but feel like a few people had decided to take her under their wing as she struggled during those first few weeks.

Getting used to that, next came the immense workload – Not only was Pony aware that in comparison to America, the Japanese had a far more vehement work ethic, and expected more out of their students and workers, she had enrolled in one of the most prestigious schools in such a nation – She probably had to do ten times as much as any of her friends back in the states. But that too became something she got used to.

Every step of the way, there had been something that had cropped up and given her difficulty. Each day came something else she had to figure out, a new obstacle to get around. And each time she got around it, somehow. She was stubborn, and she wasn't one to just give up. She liked to have a small smirk to herself when other people got caught out by her tenacity.

There were issues she found herself dealing with though that she just… Had no idea how to figure out. Or even how to begin dealing with.

* * *

Pony had had crushes before.

She was nearly seventeen and had gone through the entire mess that was elementary, middle school, and had even had to do a year of high school in America before heading off to Japan because of the difference in the curriculum – She'd had crushes on people before.

Plenty of crushes, in fact. Nearly everyone she'd found herself surrounded with was just so freaking pretty that more than one, Pony had forgotten her own name because of the people she was around.

Which was the route of the problem. Pony was… Not exactly the greatest when it came to dealing with emotions.

Few people were, she'd figured out. Most of the time, people who looked like they were good with their feelings and emotions were just really, really good at masking it up, and were internally just as bad as everyone else. Maybe even worse, since they felt the need to hide it.

The young American wasn't like that though – Mostly because she found it impossible to do. If she was scared, she would admit it. If she was angry, she was vocal – Even reverting back to her own native tongue when pushed to the point of anger. When she was happy, or proud, her smile was impossible to hide.

In that same sense, hiding a crush was borderline impossible. At least, to anyone that took note.

Despite the hard work that she put into her studies and in classes, Pony was by no means infallible. Sometimes lessons went straight over her head, or because she couldn't focus. Today was one of the latter. Something something math problems – If they were problems that she could solve on a good day or not, it didn't matter. Her heart and head weren't in it at all. She'd instead found herself gazing into space.

Well, not exactly space. She considered herself to be fairly lucky to be sat where she was.

It let her watch Kinoko.

…Only she felt her skin heat up a bit when she noticed that she was turning around to look at her.

Quickly, Pony turned away, pretending to watch what was being taught – Only to find out that not only was it Kinoko that had now turned to look at her, but pretty much everyone in the room had. Everyone had just stopped and gone dead silent, and were practically motionless – The only one who was moving now was Pony, looking left to right to confirm this and feeling herself panic a bit more every second.

"Tsunotori." At the front of the class, Ectoplasm stood, staring at her like he was expecting something from her.

Pony just looked at him for a few moments, before he tapped the blackboard with the back of his hands. Math, right. Pony blinked a few times, running the numbers through her head. What exactly did numbers mean again? And who put a letter in the middle of an equation? That didn't make any – Oh. Right. Advanced Algebra.

Quickly, Pony gave her answer. Ectoplasm seemed satisfied, though he gave her a look that she understood without the need of words – Pay attention and don't doze off again.

She couldn't help it though. One she was fairly certain that no one was watching her any longer, her eyes looked over to Kinoko again.

Kinoko Komori. A classmate, a friend, and a close one at that, particularly within the little circle that Pony had found herself a part of within 1B. Also the subject of her affections – And heaven knew when exactly that had started.

The two of them had made fast friends during the first half of the year – It was abundantly clear that the pair of them were shy around other people, and that had made them gravitate towards one another in the way that the socially awkward always seemed to do. Pony's awkwardness had come more from being in a country with customs that she didn't fully understand, whereas Kinoko had just been flat out shy.

Of all things though, she wanted to be an Idol Hero – Someone who showed off and was a public celebrity… sort of person – Pony didn't fully understand what an Idol Hero would even be. She barely understood what an Idol was in Japanese society. Only that they were dramatically less strict about things relating to it than they were a couple of centuries ago. Getting confident enough to do that though… that was something Kinoko just needed to learn to do. And Pony had needed to learn more about the place she was learning in, and the society she was a part of. It just… Worked, somehow.

Not to say that they hadn't had help from other people – But it always seemed to be them that helped the other the most. The memory of when Kinoko had first put on a sort of show, showing off the sort of Hero she wanted to be – Pony remembered clearly that that was the moment she'd actually been able to fully see her eyes from under the fringe she kept them hidden by. The next thing she knew she couldn't keep her eyes off the girl. And then she realized she was crushing on one of her closest friends and didn't have the first clue what to do about it.

Kinoko was excitable. She was more confident. She was energetic, and she was kind. And she was pretty – she'd always been pretty, but Pony just hadn't paid it any attention. Not until that show, anyway.

Now it was the most distracting aspect of her.

Those amazing eyes…

The American girl sighed. She was a mess, she wasn't thinking clearly, and she got the feeling she was being watched – that feeling in the pit of the stomach that told her someone was watching her make a fool of herself. Her imagination, surely…

Still, she forced herself to look away from Kinoko, and at least try to learn something from class.

She failed, but she did at least try.

* * *

When the bell finally did ring, Pony couldn't help but let out a long, heavy sigh, and thank God under her breath. Her eyes shut themselves, and she let herself just relax for a couple of seconds. It was over. Math had to be her absolute least favourite subject.

Certainly wasn't any easier when an insanely pretty girl was sitting not far from you.

Surrounding her, people started to pack up their equipment. It was lunch break. Pony only just now realized that she was starving on top of everything else. She'd developed a taste for Japanese food while she'd been over here – With a cook like Lunch Rush running Yuuei's cafeteria, she didn't really need to worry about finding something appealing to eat either.

"Hey, Pony?"

The blonde's eyes shot open to the sight of Kinoko leaning softly over her desk, like she was inspecting her face. Pony felt her face heat up as she attempted to play it cool.

"_O – Oh, K-Kinoko!"_ She hoped that had come out a lot smoother than it had sounded to her. "_I uh – What_ – _I mean,_ h-hi?"

Definitely not smooth. She bit her inner lip when she noticed her very brief slip back into English.

"Are you alright?" The Mushroom Quirk user asked her. These days, she kept her fringe in a sort of side-swipe, so at least one eye was always visible. Pony could see it clearly that she was confused more than anything. "You looked like you fell asleep."

Looking around, Pony noticed that most of the class had already packed up and left – A couple of seconds had quickly turned into a couple of minutes. If Kinoko hadn't come over to say something, she very well might have just fallen asleep right then and there.

"I… Yeah. I'm okay." Pony calmed herself down, and took another deep breath. She was panicking for no reason. She didn't know why today, of all days, she was panicking about everything, but she needed to calm down. "I uh… I think I'm just tired."

"Didn't you get any sleep?"

"No, no, I did. Just… Not enough though, I guess."

"You want to head back to the dorms to get some sleep?"

"N – No, I'll be… I'll be fine."

"I see… Well, me and Kendou are thinking about getting our food and heading up to the roof to eat. You coming?"

"Yeah, I'll uh, meet you there. I just need to… Gather, everything." Pony said, looking at the equipment, books and stationery she'd spent the last two minutes diligently leaving exactly where it was.

The answer satisfied Kinoko, and she turned to catch up with Itsuka, who was waiting by the door to the classroom. The orange-haired girl seemed to say something to her, before they made their way down the hallway. Once they were out of sight, Pony sighed once more.

"Dinner date on the roof. Now that's adorable."

"W -Were you watching all of that, Setsuna?"

"Preeeeetty much." The resident green-haired lizard jokester of 1B picked herself up from the desk a couple of seats away from Pony, and made her way to sit on the edge of a desk just in front of her. She had that smirk on her face – That teeth-baring grin that meant she had something clever to say that amused her to no end. "Aaaaaaand everything before that."

"_Oh God…"_ Pony muttered in her native tongue, already feeling her cheeks tangibly go red. Her hands moved to each cheek to try to hide it and to cool them down. Neither worked.

"You're adorable, y'know that?" Setsuna teased. Her teasing was never malicious at all – Quite the opposite. It was how she showed affection for people… Though that didn't make it less embarrassing. "Like, really? Do you actually know how adorable you are? You're so smitten it's amazing to watch, girl."

"Am I that obvious?..."

"Like a freight train crashing into an airport, which crashes into a dynamite factory, in the middle of Beijing." Setsuna giggled at her own joke. "You're just lucky Komori is the most oblivious girl in the universe."

Her fondness for teasing aside and acting the way that she did, Setsuna was intelligent. Deceptively so. Pony wouldn't even pretend to deny anything because if she did, Setsuna would, with a cheerful smile, go over every point she had listed in her head from her observations. When it came to crushes and liking people especially, Setsuna wasn't someone that was easy to fool.

"She is… Just… So…" Pony groaned in frustration and hid her face against her desk. There weren't words she could put into pace to describe what it was about Kinoko she'd fallen for. She barely knew herself. It was like a switch had been flipped one day. Like those eyes had triggered something inside her.

"Got something for girls with pretty eyes?" Setsuna asked, gently patting her friends head. "I'm offended you've not got a thing for me then."

"Leave me alone…"

"Alright, alright, sorry." Sensing the poor girl had had enough, Setsuna apologized, and took her hand back. She paused for a moment, before kneeling down so her chin rested on her friends' desk. "Seriously, you alright? You seem really distracted with her today."

"I don't know why either…" Muttered Pony, as she sat upright. "She's just…. Glowing."

"Well, that's concerning."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I getcha. Dunno why she might be though. She hasn't mentioned anything that'd make her seem more…. Glowing-er-y than usual." Setsuna's eyes darted to the ceiling for a moment as she ran ideas through her head. During this, Pony looked up from hiding her face. "You're sure you're not just crushing extra hard. Actually, doesn't matter – You gonna keep fawning over her or are you gonna ask her out sometime this century?"

"I don't – I – " Pony blinked, then hung her head and sighed. "I don't know…"

Setsuna's smirk faded, and she let out a small sigh of her own. She wasn't disappointed in her friend – Not in the least, and Pony knew that too. She hadn't even reached the end of the jokes she could make. It was more that she understood that this conversation wasn't going to go anywhere – Nothing she could say would encourage her friend to go for it – She'd used up every motivational trick she had. "I'm not gonna push it, you know that. But you already know my opinion, don't'cha?"

Pony nodded. She did indeed.

* * *

How many times had Setsuna asked her about Kinoko?

It had to be up there in the dozens, didn't it? She'd known for the better part of a year, and she'd poke fun at her crush whenever she'd gotten the chance – and made plenty of chances of her own. She wasn't ill intent at all. But she could sometimes be a little… Much for Pony to deal with. Her friend was trustworthy enough to talk to about this sort of thing though, and that had… Helped, over the last few months.

The American made her way through the corridors of Yuuei, her lunch wrapped up in a disposable bag that the school provided her with. She passed by a few people as she made her way to the roof and towards Kinoko and Itsuka. She wasn't sure if it was just her, but she could swear that there were more couples around than she was used to seeing.

Not one of them was doing anything…. Public, but Pony knew these people and these couples. She'd seen them before – She was friends with many of them. A few of them even turned to greet her as she walked past.

Of course, they were high school students. People were going to couple up. But the sight of them made her feel… She wasn't sure. Both excited and sad at the same time. Was there a word for that?

Either way, she felt the need to get away from them as quickly as she possibly could.

Without letting them know that she was trying to get away from them, of course. Which translated to her walking quickly while trying not to look like she was walking quickly.

Normally it wouldn't get to her as much as it was getting to her today. She shook her head – What was it that was making her feel this way? This alert and awkward and whatever else it was that was making her so… Oh, she didn't know!

Briefly, she stopped, at the steps to the roof, hesitating. In this state, could she really deal with being around Kinoko right now? She looked up the steps, and gulped. Kinoko was up there. Her cheeks reddened.

For some reason, right now, of all times, she remembered actually first meeting Kinoko. Remembered their first conversation – It had been an… Interesting conversation, when Kinoko had asked her what sorts of mushrooms grew in the US, and Pony didn't have a clue how to respond to that. That had ended with Pony getting her phone out, and looking up the answer. Kinoko said she found them pretty. Pony remembered smiling, even though she didn't have the faintest clue what the heck a pretty mushroom was supposed to look like.

She remembered them getting pair up for one of their first battle trials, and they had seen one another's Quirks for the first time. Mushroom and Horn Canon had proven a potent combination – Kinoko covered the ground and the walls, while Pony covered the skies and the air. They had won, and hugged one another in celebration.

Then she remembered that first performance, and when she'd actually seen Kinoko's eyes for the first time. It had been like she'd been putting on some sort of concert, while possessing the strength and skill all would expect a Hero to show, and it showed itself so clearly even though she was just supposed to be doing… Whatever it was Idols did. It was fantastic, it was glorious, it was enrapturing.

And then she remembered their joint exercises with 1A. She was strong and careful, showed off how powerful her Quirk was, showed how far she had come from the first few weeks they spent at Yuuei.

Had that been what had re-sparked up this recent thumping in her chest whenever she found herself around Kinoko? That admiration?

Pony bit the inside of her lower lip. She felt like she was looking for an answer that didn't exist. Could emotions just…. Not, mess with her? That would be nice.

She took a small inhale. Her let hoof scratched at the back of her right heel gently, and as it returned to the ground, she exhaled, and she made her way up the steps. Somehow knowing that Itsuka was up there made climbing up them a whole lot easier. In the state she was in today, she had no idea if she was going to be able to handle being around Kinoko alone.

The shape of Yuuei as a building meant it had four separate roofs – Four towers, one dedicated to one of the four courses that Yuuei offered. The Hero tower; the north-west one, was the one Pony found herself on top of once she stepped onto the roof. She glanced around.

There was Kinoko.

And… Only, Kinoko.

The American girl looked around, wondering where Itsuka had gone. Nowhere. Was she still getting her food? Hadn't she and Kinoko gone together?

At just that moment though, Kinoko looked up from her lunch box, and noticed that Pont had arrived. A smile made itself known to her face, and she quickly raised her arm up and waved her friend over.

Well, any plans to awkwardly back out were pretty much abolished after that. Pony smiled back, and made her way over. Itsuka would arrive shortly, wouldn't she? That made it easier.

"There you are!" Kinoko grinned once Pony was in earshot. "I was starting to think I was going to have to start looking for you again."

"I haven't gotten that lost since the start of the year." Pony replied light-heartedly as she took a seat next to her crush. At the start of the year, Pony had ended up getting lost more than a few times, and someone had always had to go out to find her before classes began.

"I know. You've grown so much."

"…I can't tell if that was a mushroom pun or not."

Kinoko's eyes sparkled. "Oh my God it could be couldn't it?"

Pony laughed. "Where's Itsuka? I think I'm going to need her to keep you in line like she does Monoma."

"She got called for…. 'Class President things.'" Kinoko revealed, making quotation marks with her fingers as she gave Itsuka's reasoning. "Whatever that means."

A second passed, and then Pony blinked. "I… Itsuka's not coming, then?"

"Nah. Thought I was gonna eat on my own before you showed up."

Ah.

…Oh dear.

For Pony, it had been easier to speak to Kinoko like she had been because she hadn't realized the fact that it was just going to be them on their own. She'd taken comfort in the fact that if things got awkward, Itsuka would eventually show up to break that awkwardness and things would return to normal pretty much immediately. But now, that wasn't happening.

And she'd already set the tone for their conversation with everything that she had said. So if she didn't keep it up, Kinoko would notice. And if she just up and left now, Kinoko would almost certainly take offense – It would basically be saying that the only reason she had come here at all was because she had expected to see Itsuka.

Which was only about thirty percent true – She had, but she had wanted to come up anyway. Awkwardness and anxiety aside she had wanted to see Kinoko. At no point did she not want to see Kinoko -

Suddenly she felt her face heat up and her heart beat harder. She was alone with Kinoko and had locked herself out of any excuse to remove herself from the situation and save face within seconds of arriving.

It wasn't that she couldn't handle being around Kinoko alone – They were close friends, and lived in the same building. If she couldn't handle being around Kinoko on her own then she was going to be in serious trouble. It was more that it was today – Of all days, where she was feeling so strongly about her, to an absolutely abnormal degree, and couldn't make heads nor tails of why. Today, of all days – This had to be the one where she locked herself into a social situation?

_...Oh dear._

Pony dared to look towards Kinoko with her eyes and without moving her head at all. Right now, she was chewing on food and had her eyes firmly shut, apparently enjoying it that much. It gave Pony a moment to just look at her. Today of all days, she looked stunning to the extreme. Maybe it was the sun that was making her glow? Her Quirk was plant-based, after all…

"Hey, so I've been wanting to ask." Kinoko said suddenly, and somehow perfectly coherently with a mouthful of food. Her eyes opened up, and Pony tried her best to look like she was just turning in response to her voice. "You seemed really out of it in class. Setsuna poked you and you didn't even notice."

"D-Didn't I?" Was this when everyone had been staring at her when her zoning out had been called out by Vlad King, or after?

Her hands awkwardly fumbled with untying her lunchbox – She was supposed to be eating, wasn't she?

Kinoko nodded. "Yeah. It woulda been scary if it wasn't… Kinda funny, honestly." The Mushroom Quirk user chuckled as she recalled it.

"I'm glad you thought so…" Pony muttered, wondering if she'd still find it funny if she realized that she was the reason that it was impossible for her to focus today. "Wh – what about you?" She then asked, aloud. "You seemed really, really… Out of it when you asked me up here."

"Hungry." Her answer came as she popped another bit of food into her mouth. Somehow even that was beautiful… Somehow. "What's your reason? You alright?"

"Y – Yeah." Pony nodded her head, perhaps a bit too quickly. "I – I guess I just… Well, like I said. Tired."

"The last time you were tired in class, you just fell asleep." Kinoko reminded her. She then put on a tone of clearly fake annoyance. "Wish I could fall asleep in class and still get such high grades. Little miss prodigy."

It had been a tease, but it made Pony blush all the same. "I-I'm not a prodigy. I just… Worked. Really… Really hard."

"And I'm glad. Wouldn't have met you if you hadn't."

Was she actually aware of the effect she had on her, Pony thought as her heart fluttered again and again. Did she actually know what she was doing? 'Cause the way she spoke, it almost seemed like she was trying to make her blush!

"Seriously though. You sure you're okay?" A serious tone this time. No teasing, and no joking. Just a kind, soft, sincere voice. "I won't pry if you don't wanna talk to me, but if there is something wrong, y'know I'll listen, right?"

She had that soft smile on her face. And her eyes were clear as day.

There was a part of Pony that wanted to tell her right then and there. Something about how soft the moment was… Something about how gently she approached the topic. Something about how she wanted to make sure that she knew that she would be there for her if she needed it. Something about it just made Pony want to spill her heart out to her.

In that moment, somehow, she just knew that Kinoko wouldn't break her heart.

She couldn't explain it… But she just…. Knew, somehow.

"I uh…. Y… Yeah. I'm fine. Just some stuff, that's all. I'd rather not talk about it right now."

She didn't though.

"If you're sure."

"Yeah… Yeah, I am." Pony nodded. "D - Don't worry, it's not anything bad! Just… Personal, that's all."

That seemed to make Kinoko relax a bit more. She smiled brighter and nodded. "Oh, I see. That's fine, I understand."

"Thanks. And… Thank you. For offering."

Because even though Pony had that gut feeling that Kinoko wouldn't break her heart right now if she told her… She wanted telling her to be something memorable. Something that… Actually felt like the right time to tell her.

Not a heat of the moment gut feeling.

But an actual, honest, and real confession that fully explained how and why she felt like she did.

If nothing else, she owed Kinoko that much.

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Pony had a thought.

"So, about that 'grow' pun."

"Hmm? Yeah?"

"I almost feel like I'm going to regret asking – But… Exactly how many mushroom based puns do you even have?"

Once more, Kinoko's eyes gleamed. "Oh you have no idea how long I've waited for someone to ask me that."

The rest of their break was spent as Kinoko went over just about every single mushroom-based joke, pun, double-entendre and bit of wordplay that she had ever conceived of in her life, from clever, to terrible, to innocent to ones that made Pony blush hotter than the sun itself.

Before that began though, two unseen silhouettes made their way back into the main building.

"Was this entirely necessary?"

In the small overhanging building that covered the stairs to the roof, Setsuna gave Itsuka a smirk as she turned to head into the main school building. "Trust me, they needed this. Well, Tsunotori did, anyway. She's been like this for months. She needed to just be in a situation like this to get her back on track."

"Not sure I'm comfortable with you interfering with other people's romantic lives." A pause. "Also not sure I like that you called me and made me lie to Komori for this."

"Again, trust me, you'll thank me later. They're gonna get to it and not keep their hands off each other if they stop being so awkward. Hell, she'll thank you for lying to her when she starts 'glowing'." Setsuna's smirk reached as wide as it would go.

"You are the complete worst."

"Happy to be of service, Kendou."

* * *

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH**

**This was… Difficult for me to write. I do not know why – But this fic in particular has been kicking my arse for the last two weeks. Really don't know why, but I got it done! Thank the Gods! **

**Pony was easy to write – I made her socially awkward as all hell 'cause I found it funnier and easier to write. Plus, I quite like Pony – I have a bunch of ideas for fics I want to try her in. I was even able to add in small details – Like how everyone calls her by her first name since she'd be more comfortable with it, and how she calls most of her friends by their first names cause they understand she'd be more used to that – I had ideas and stuff to work with there. **

**Kinoko was…. Tricky though. I literally had next to nothing to work with – most of the traits I got for her I got from the Izumina Discord as I cried bloody tears at them in frustration at having no **_**goddamn idea what to write for this fic. **_**With Mina I at least had some visual and visible personality to work with – With Kinoko over the last five years we've had nothing but "Hey this is a person who exists I guess."****Hopefully the traits I got from my discord group paid off and this is something… At least fun enough to have read.**

**This fic was part of a trade with burningbloodsanji, who wrote "heroes of the stars: a kacchako story" in exchange – Be sure to check out his profile and the story he wrote in exchange for me – I got Sci-Fi Kacchako out of it – I'm not sure which one of us screwed the other over the most to be honest :D**

**Thanks for reading – and thanks to Sanji for doing the trade with me – And I'll see you all in whatever I write next. See ya!**


End file.
